Harris is getting ready off the campaign trail at a hotel in Pittsburgh, where she has been doing mock-debate sessions using a replica stage with an adviser playing (and reportedly even dressing up as) Trump. Part of the Harris team’s strategy has been to come up with ways to help Trump defeat himself during the event — which will be a lot harder without hot mics. But as Gabriel Debenedetti reports, Harris’s debate prep isn’t just about going on offense:
In mock-debate sessions in Pittsburgh, planning meetings in Washington, and briefing-book cram sessions between public events on the campaign trail, the vice-president and her aides have kept much of their focus on fine-tuning ways to keep presenting her as representative of a new political era for the benefit of curious voters who are still interested in learning more about her — and who may swing the race come November.
The debate, say Democrats close to Harris, is simply not the venue for just pumping up her partisans or trying to fulfill a liberal fantasy of so aggressively confronting Trump that his own supporters have second thoughts about voting for him. Instead, Harris’s team believes it needs to be about finding moments to educate and convert the voters on the margins.
Trump has done debate-prep aided by Representative Matt Gaetz, who has reportedly helped him practice defending himself against tough questions and attacks. Former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, who debated (and went after) Harris during the 2020 primaries, and is helping Trump prepare as well, along with advisers Chris LaCivita, Susie Wiles, and Jason Miller, according to Politico. Per multiple reports, Trump’s allies and advisers have been warning him against launching personal attacks on Harris at the debate.
